<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> >Of course you can get sick in a health foods store...flours and granolas and >cereals, etc. etc. etc. and the dusts from them and the molds. > >Then there's the incense, and the candles and the essential oils. And it >is filled with plants, that give off mold spores....A charcoal mask would >help. I just wanted to say a charcoal mask will DEFINITELY help. I use one almost everywhere away from home and also at home when doing vacuuming or reading certain stinky materials such as newspapers (3M type, #9913, dust and mist respirator). I put the mask on when I go out as routinely as I put on a hat and coat. Anybody who is suffering from such exposures to mold, flour or other dust, incense, other scents should definitely give a charcoal mask a try. The biggest hurdle is psychological -- I have one friend who is so sensitive to all sorts of stuff but prefers to suffer and cry and rant rather than "look different" in a mask. Me, I'm into comfort and good health. The irony is that the food co-op and the "health food store" are the worst -- I can actually go maskless in most large regular grocery stores! I imagine it's partly just because the large stores have high ceilings and lots of aisle space, but also because of the relative lack of particulates and such in the air. (Unless of course you wander past moldy potatoes or the dreaded highly scented "laundry and personal care products" aisles....). The #9913 even keeps out paint fumes!!! It also keeps out mold, even though it's not rated for that. I'd never manage to scoop out the nutritional yeast from the bulk container in the food co-op for my nutritional-yeast-addicted cats without a mask.... Also I'd never survive all the other stuff mentioned! I'm not bothered by pollen or car exhausts when wearing a charcoal mask, either. It's really great and MUCH better than getting inflamed lungs and killer headaches.... Plus it doubles as a Halloween costume in season! Call K-Mart and similar stores and hardware stores and safety supply stores to find various varieties of charcoal masks to try. They might have single packages. I like the 3M because it's not plastic (I often have trouble with the plastics used as holders for other types) and it also is pretty sturdy and more comfortable than those chintzy pollen/cold weather masks you might see in hardware stores. I go through about one per week (they're disposable), although if you are exposed to a huge amount of perfume or such the charcoal part will be exhausted very quickly (it will still work fine if your problem is just particulates). Of course, if particulates are your only problem, you could try all sorts of simpler masks. I was told about the #9913 by a 3M techie, when I asked if they had something that would let me read the newspaper (I'm sensitive to volatiles in the inks, it's a respiratory sensitivity not a skin reaction), so for me the charcoal is all-important. If you can't find a local supplier, you can buy the 3M #9913 by the bag of 20 from Stagg Safety Supply here in Richmond, Indiana (765/966-1027) -- I asked if they could do this for out-of-towners the last time I bought a bag. They will ship elsewhere, at least in the US. Peace, Cathy Flick [log in to unmask] P.S. If anybody is so sensitive to artificial scents that, like me, they have trouble with the toilet tissue that even though officially unscented picks up the perfume from the Charmin sitting next to it -- I highly recommend getting unscented toilet tissue by the case. I actually order a half case periodically from Seventh Generation (1-800-456-1177) so it is delivered straight to my door. Walnut Acres is now shipping Seventh Generation paper products also, there are undoubtedly other mail order suppliers of unscented tissue. Before, I would paw through the Scott tissue trying in vain to find uncontaminated ones at the store, and half the time when getting them home I would realize they were still contaminated and so unuseable for me.